ROMAN POLANSKI TO RECEIVE 2017 ‘LEGEND AWARD’ FOLLOWING CLOSING NIGHT SCREENING OF HIS ‘BASED ON A TRUE STORY’

LIONSGATE NAMED ISCHIA ‘STUDIO OF THE YEAR’;MOTION PICTURE GROUP CHAIR PATRICK WACHSBERGER TO BE HONOREDAS 2017 ‘GLOBAL MOTION PICTURE EXECUTIVE’

ISCHIA, ITALY, June 19 2017 – The Board of the Ischia Arts Academy announced today that the iconic Academy Award® (Best Director 2002 for “The Pianist) and Golden Globe® (Best Director 1974 for “Chinatown”) winning Polish film director Roman Polanski has been selected to receive a 2017 ‘Legend Award’ and Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Patrick Wachsberger will be honored as ‘Global Motion Picture Executive’ during the July 16th closing night ceremonies of the 15th annual Ischia Global Film & Music Festival. It was further revealed that Lionsgate has been named ‘Studio of the Year’ and that Polanski’s new film, “Based on a True Story,” will close the Festival.

Polanski’s wife, Emmanuelle Seigner, who stars in “Based on a True Story” alongside Eva Green and Vincent Perez, will accept the award on his behalf. The tongue-in-cheek psychological thriller, which premiered at the recent Cannes Film Festival, was written by Polanski and Olivier Assayas based on a novel by Delphine de Vigan. The Belga Films Fund production is produced by Wassim Beji and distributed in Italy by the Leone Film Group.

“We truly look forward to screening maestro Polanski’s latest film, and to honoring him, Lionsgate and our longtime friend and colleague Patrick Wachsberger,” said Festival founder and producer Pascal Vicedomini and Honorary Chair Mark Canton. “It will be the perfect finale to what we expect to be the best Ischia Global yet.”

With over 35 years’ experience in the production, distribution and acquisition business, Wachsberger helped build Summit Entertainment into one of the world's most successful international sales and distribution organizations. Following its acquisition by Lionsgate in 2012, Wachsberger became a co-chair of its Motion Picture Group and in the ensuing years shepherded such blockbusters as the global box office phenomenon “La La Land,” winner of six Academy Awards, the “Twilight Saga” and “Hunger Games” franchises along with many other hit films.Prior to serving as Summit International's CEO for nearly 20 years as well as Co-Chairman of Summit Entertainment, Wachsberger served for six years as President and CEO of Odyssey Entertainment and Odyssey Distribution where he acquired, coproduced and distributed his first acquisition, “Pelle the Conqueror,” which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film as well as The Palme d'or at Cannes. Wachsberger has also produced Paul Haggis' “In the Valley of Elah,” “Step Up” and the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie blockbuster “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” and he has executive produced such films as “Vanilla Sky,” “Bad Lieutenant” and “Switch.”Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader whose feature films, television programming, digital content and premium platforms touch consumers around the world. With its acquisition of Starz, a media and entertainment leader whose flagship STARZ® premium pay service reaches nearly 25 million U.S. subscribers, Lionsgate continues to grow into a vertically integrated global content platform of increasing diversity, reach and scale. The Company’s portfolio of assets includes one of the largest independent television businesses in the world, a 16,000-title film and television library, a world-class film business and an expanding global distribution footprint.

The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster “The Hunger Games” franchise, the “Now You See Me” series, the box office smash “La La Land,” which won six Academy Awards®, the hit franchise sequel “John Wick: Chapter Two,” double Oscar winner “Hacksaw Ridge,” Tyler Perry's “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” “The Shack,” “Saban's Power Rangers,” CBS Films/Lionsgate's “Hell or High Water,” Roadside Attractions' critically-acclaimed “Manchester by the Sea,” Codeblack Films' breakout concert film “Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain” and Pantelion Films' “Instructions Not Included,” the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S., and recent breakout hit “How To Be A Latin Lover.”

Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, Polanski is considered one of the few truly international filmmakers. His early shorts such as “Two Men and a Wardrobe,” “The Fat” and the Lean,” and “Mammals,” showed his taste for black humor and interest in bizarre human relationships. His feature debut, “Knife in the Water,” was one of the first Polish post-war films not associated with the war theme. It was also the first movie from Poland to get an Oscar nomination for best foreign film. Though already a major Polish filmmaker, Polanski chose to leave the country and headed to France. His next two films, “Repulsion” and “Cul-De-Sac” made in England won respectively Silver and then Golden Bear awards at the Berlin International Film Festival.

In 1968, Polanski went to Hollywood, where he made the psychological thriller, “Rosemary’s Baby.” However, after the brutal murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson Family in 1969, the director decided to return to Europe. In 1974, he again made a US release, “Chinatown,” which seemed the beginning of a promising Hollywood career. After “Tess,” which was awarded several Oscars and Cesars, his works in 1980s and 1990s became intermittent and rarely approached the caliber of his earlier films. It wasn't until “The Pianist” that Polanski came back to full form. For that movie, he won nearly all the most important film awards, including the Oscar for Best Director, Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, the BAFTA and Cesar Award.

The 2017 Ischia Global Film & Music Fest, which takes place on this picturesque island off the coast of Naples from July 9-16, will include a week of major film premieres, socially-relevant symposia, music performances, a master acting class and award ceremonies

Presented under the auspices of the Ischia Arts Academy, the Ischia Global Film & Music Fest, is sponsored by Mibact-Dg Cinema and the Campania Region, in collaboration with ANICA, AMBI MEDIA GROUP, BNL-Group BNL-PARIBAS and the municipalities of the Green Island. The Festival’s Honorary Board is chaired by the American producer Mark Canton and includes Oscar-winners Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo, Paul Haggis, Bille August and Bobby Moresco amongst others.

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